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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the U.S. military is moving ahead with developing the Marine Corps version of the next-generation strike fighter jet, but warns the program is "not out of the woods yet." Those remarks came as the F-35B Lightning II was removed from "probation" and granted full status along the other two variants of the Joint Strike Fighter. He said the F-35, the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program, is "absolutely vital to maintaining America's air superiority".

Since Pakistan shut down U.S. supply lines in late 2011, the Pentagon has been spending more than six times what it normally does to get supplies to troops in Afghanistan. According to information obtained by the Associated Press, it now costs about $104 million per month to move the supplies through a longer northern route, $87 million more a month than when the cargo moved through Pakistan.

The Pentagon is preparing a series of new initiatives to try to curb sexual assaults in the military. "Sexual assault has no place in this department. It's is an affront to the basic American values we defend," said Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta as laid out the first in a series of proposal. According to Panetta, the steps include extending victim services to military spouses as well as Pentagon civilians and contractors working abroad and more money to prosecute perpetrators.

A review of legally oriented mail to prisoners facing charges for war crimes at Guantanamo Bay prison has been ordered. Rear Adm. David Woods says it balances the need for defense attorneys to communicate with their clients with demands for security and safety on the base. Woods made the statement at a pre-trial hearing in a case against a Saudi man charged with orchestrating the deadly attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, is considered one of al-Qaida's most senior leaders.

Why were the roads shutdown around the Pentagon after last Friday's incident involving a Marine Corps Reserve Lance Corporal? "Based on the fact that he had fled from the Fort Meyers Police Department that he wasn't forthcoming with his information and as far as identifiers and what he was doing and he did have some products with him that were a little bit concerning initially. That's we felt it as appropriate to close these roadways down," says U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser. Yonathan Melaku was taken into custody after being caught on the grounds of Arlington Cemetery after dark. His car was found near the Pentagon.